Former Unification Church Chairman Criticizes Current Leadership... "They Must Apologize to the People and Take Responsibility Themselves"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Kwak Jeong-hwan (84), former world chairman of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church), who was once called the second-in-command of the Unification Church, claimed regarding the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that “the Unification movement (Unification Church activities) completely deviated from its original place, which caused this incident.”

At a press conference held on the 19th at the Koreana Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul, former Chairman Kwak opened by saying, “Having been the highest-ranking leader in the Unification Church for the longest time, I do not think I am free from responsibility for Prime Minister Abe’s death. I sincerely offer my apologies.”

Former Chairman Kwak is the father-in-law of Moon Hyun-jin, the third son of the late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon. He joined the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (former Unification Church) in 1958 and held various key positions. He served as the first chairman of the Catholic Peace Federation, the first president of Segye Ilbo, owner of the professional soccer team Seongnam Ilhwa, and held the highest positions within the church. He also served as chairman of the Korea Professional Football League. It is known that he left the Unification Church in 2009 due to internal conflicts.

Former Chairman Kwak urged the current Unification Church leadership to apologize. He pointed out, “The current Unification Church leadership must sincerely apologize not only to the Japanese people but to everyone, reveal their mistakes themselves, and take responsibility.”

He added, “Chairman Moon (Hyun-jin) tried to gradually transform the Japanese church from an ‘economic unit’ that generates cash into a proper providential movement organization that practices and spreads true family ideals, but from the start, he faced resistance and obstacles, and eventually, he could no longer intervene in Japan.”

He continued, “I do not know how much offering was collected in Japan because I was not in charge, but I think a lot of offerings came to Korea after the death of President Moon.”

On this day, former Chairman Kwak spent considerable time explaining past internal disputes within the Unification Church. He claimed that after his son-in-law Moon Hyun-jin became world chairman of the Unification Church in 1998 following his father, he faced resistance and attacks from church power factions, which intensified as Han Hak-ja, the current president and mother, and brothers Moon Guk-jin (fourth son) and Moon Hyeong-jin (seventh son) took center stage.

At the press conference, former Chairman Kwak did not mention any details that could be inferred as background to the shooting incident, such as how much the mother of the assassin Tetsuya Yamagami (41), a former Prime Minister Abe’s killer, donated as a Unification Church member or her activities within the church.

Regarding relations with Liberal Democratic Party politicians, he said, “Founder Sun Myung Moon was close to former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Isn’t he the grandfather of Prime Minister Abe? I also understand that Abe’s father, who was foreign minister, was close to the founder.” He emphasized, “What I want to make clear is that there is absolutely no political relationship with former Prime Minister Kishi, (Abe’s father) former Minister Abe, or former Prime Minister Abe, who died from the shooting.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.